Wednesday, September 4, 2024 | Green Turtle Shells Lessons

Wednesday, September 4, 2024 | Brown Teddy Bears Lessons

Lesson #2

All Sound Beginnings classes provide an opportunity not only for you to have fun with your child, but to also bond with them. As you participate in the purposeful activities, make eye contact with, and dance along with with your child, you are nurturing a stronger relationship with them!

Next week we'll sing these in class:

• Name, Name, What's Your Name?
• The Four Seasons
• Fall Is Here
• In My Class I Have Some Bells
• The Teddy Bears' Picnic
• Mulberry Bush
• Going to the Zoo
• Grizzly Bear
• Weather Dance

This semester your student will be introduced to the major scale. The major scale is arguably the most important scale in western music as it influences melodic structure and provides the basis for naming the notes of the chords in a piece of music. Sound Beginnings students have the opportunity to internalize the sound and structure of a major scale before more formal music instruction begins.

The most important word to children is their own name. The meaning and value it has makes this a great place to start when teaching them to read.

Physical touch with a caregiver during finger plays and rhymes strengthens relationships through play.

Optional home fun activity: Color the bells on page 9 of your workbook      
(Remember, these activities are optional but can be a great bonding experience to do with your child during the week.)  

Here is a video with some fun facts about brown bears! (The real ones, not teddy bears!)

Sound Beginnings is education through musical play! It prepares children for success in Kindergarten and Let’s Play Music. Sound beginnings provides research-based elements that stimulate growth in the areas particularly crucial to the development of the young child. These elements make up the foundation of the Sound Beginnings curriculum.  Here is just one:
	Sound Beginnings channels the young voice into beautiful, in-tune singing by providing proper vocal modeling in the correct range. Solfege hand signs teach pitch relationships; the minor 3rd (SOL-MI) pattern is used to develop in-tune singing and pitch matching.

Have a musical day!    
-Ms. Bethany :)

Tuesday, September 3, 2024 | Bridge Lessons

Tuesday, September 3, 2024 | Purple Magic Lessons

Lesson #2

Quick reminder: be sure flashcards are done EVERY DAY. (Flashcards should take less than 30 seconds each day this week.) You should be practicing Middle C, B, & D and F-A-C-E cards.

Today we began "dictation" at the beginning of class. In many of our classes, we will practice listening and writing skills. Your children have been instructed to stay outside the keyboard room if they arrive late, as we would like absolute silence while we go through the activity. They will be invited in when we are finished with that part. Please have your children be on time so they don't miss these valuable exercises!

Remember that listening to the class music often is part of the weekly practice assignment and will enhance your child's learning process: Listen, listen, listen to the music. The lyrics will teach the kids the musical skills we're working on. If you need help getting the Let's Play Music app to work, start here. (Remember, you will use the same login information you used when you registered for class.)  
   
Celebrate Connection

• Number the Let's Play Music patterns. Roll one dice and play the pattern that you roll. (6 can be your choice!)
• Run across the room and give Mom or Dad a hug or high five (or hip bump) after you finish each song.

Caterpillar Cousins
Our old favorite caterpillar is BACK to help our finger strength, coordination, and dexterity! This time we are asking even MORE out of your little musician by requiring their hands to play in parallel motion. Please have your child try to "glue" their fingers to the keys for this exercise so they can develop good technique!
   
Bounce and Roll
Our first repertoire piece will have your child sight reading and playing hands together. It will also teach us how to accurately execute and recognize the articulation markings for staccato and legato that we experienced physically last week! 

A little Staccato and Legato humor for you!

Here is a link to all the skills videos as well as the link to be able to purchase a class video to make up for a missed class. (tap or scan)

Have a musical day!
-Ms. Bethany :)

Tuesday, September 3, 2024 | Red Balloons Lessons

Lesson #2

Parents come next week! Don't forget your tote bag, bells, and home fun activity book! Also, be sure to initial that you did the home fun activities with your child so they can get a sticker or stamp in their book! As a reminder, the home activity you do each week is the one for the lesson we just did in class. So this week you will be doing #2 in your book. 

What a fun 2nd week we had! Your students are amazing!! They were so brave to go to class without their mom or dad. We are looking forward to our  parents coming this next week. ( Reminder ...if you can’t come, please send your child anyway. It would be ideal if you found a replacement, i.e. grandmas, grandpas, aunts, etc.)

PLEASE be sure that you and your child are able to absorb all of this amazing curriculum by coming to class on time, which means we START at the time your class is scheduled to start. My sign is on the door 5 minutes before class starts, which means I’m ready for you to come in and come downstairs! 

Hear How the Bells
We are teaching your student to hear harmony by using the singing part and combining it with the bell part. Singing solo doesn't develop the ear like singing with counter parts. The opposition to the melody trains the ear in beautiful ways! This song is the powerful beginning to singing in four part harmony!   

Three Blind Mice
We are helping the kids to "audiate" a melody. Audiate means to hear music 'inside' when there is no sound actually present. We must be able to hear music first in our heads before we learn to sing in harmony, perform different rhythms, play the correct chords, compose a song, etc. It is a vital piece to our developing a complete musician!
   
Major Scales
Today we introduced the term "major scale." We learned this term as we sang our DO RE MI song! The kids heard a major scale go up and down, it's just the beginning of understanding that every piece has a correlating key signature and scale, music theory 101 started today and it was accomplished through PLAY!

Click HERE to read part 1 of the Master Ear-Training Tool!

Here is a link to all the skills videos as well as the link to be able to purchase a class video to make up for a missed class. (tap or scan)

Have a musical day!
-Ms. Bethany :)